Thompson Chau

🇲🇲✈️🇹🇼 Belated personal news: I left Yangon at the end of 2021 after calling Myanmar home for more than half a decade, moving to Taipei to cover news in Taiwan and Burma. Here’s my goodbye essay. 1/3 theguardian.com/global-develop…

MUST READ "While there are worries about Lai's uncompromising style, it is the opposition's behavior and policies that have raised eyebrows in overseas capitals, according to multiple foreign officials." writes @tchau01 for @NikkeiAsia. asia.nikkei.com/politics/inter…

Again, @tchau01 with the goods. If you want to have your finger on the pulse of Taiwan's complex domestic politics and foreign relations, a subscription to @NikkeiAsia is a must. asia.nikkei.com/politics/inter…

Anonymous senior US official: Instead of Taiwan "waiting for the congressional notifications, it is actually the other way around. We are waiting to see if [Taipei] will actually pay for it before we keep moving on the sales on our end." asia.nikkei.com/politics/inter… via @NikkeiAsia

@heguisen @NikkeiAsia Many thanks, Chris! You’re very kind 🙏

Helped by diplomatic breakthroughs, "strong tech-driven economic growth, a landmark trade deal with the U.S. backed by industries and businesses, and the opposition's chaotic rejection of his defense reforms." asia.nikkei.com/politics/inter…

Welcomed UK Rep. Ruth Bradley-Jones to Taichung!🇹🇼🤝🇬🇧From “Taichung taste” to aerospace and higher education exchanges, we visited AIDC and met universities to deepen talent and tech cooperation. Connecting global partners to make Taichung a world-class city. #TaichungWay

"More recently, Lai's approval rate has rebounded. In a poll conducted by My Formosa in late January, 46% expressed satisfaction with Lai, up 5.4 percentage points from the previous month, while 48% were dissatisfied, down 4.2 points."

Many of us watching Taiwan are worried about this phenomenon. The chip/tech industry makes the $$ and the domestic economy runs on real estate. Traditional industries are performing poorly. asia.nikkei.com/economy/taiwan…

“We are prepared for a range of scenarios and outcomes, and will respond accordingly,” a Taiwanese govt official said. He acknowledged the risks of Trump making all sorts of remarks but was confident the summit would not impede US arms sales to Taiwan. 2/2 asia.nikkei.com/politics/inter…

NEW: @NikkeiAsia cited a few possibilities for the Trump-Xi summit outlined by Richard Bush in a conversation with @ryanl_hass, a @CrisisGroup commentary by @WilliamYang120 and @le2huong , as well as assessments from government officials in Taipei. 1/2 asia.nikkei.com/politics/inter…

"I don't think we should be promising restraint on arms sales while Beijing continues its military buildup. That's just exacerbating the asymmetry that already exists between the two sides." asia.nikkei.com/politics/inter…

Looking forward to attend this event and listen to the opposition leader taking questions from the foreign press as Taiwan's politics is becoming increasingly divise and polarised.

Taiwan's tech boom leaves young workers & old industries cold: Low wages (~$950.00/mo) amid semiconductor surge. asia.nikkei.com/economy/taiwan…

The US president told the FT in an interview on Sunday that he could also delay his summit with China’s President Xi Jinping later this month as he presses Beijing to help unblock the crucial waterway. ft.com/content/1ca6d1…

Thrilled to be moderating a @TaiwanFCC briefing with KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun this month. We appreciate her openness and willingness to engage. I expect a huge crowd to show up!

Respect to the @TaiwanFCC board for making this happen. Last time a KMT chair was this accessible to foreign media was in 2017, when Hung Hsiu-chu was in charge of the party. nytimes.com/2017/03/29/wor…

As the US edition of “Ghost Nation: The Story of Taiwan and Its Struggle for Survival” was launched last month, the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club hosted longtime Taiwan journalist and former TFCC Vice President Chris Horton (@heguisen) for a talk about his new book.

Nikkei Asia: Middle East tensions highlight Taiwan’s energy vulnerabilities. DSET’s Tsaiying Lu notes the immediate challenge is rising fuel prices—not supply disruption—as Taiwan works to diversify imports and manage summer power demand.

Fifteen years ago. My eldest son was about six months old. Had he not been in our home at the time he could have been another victim of the massive quake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011. (Everything fell off shelves in our apartment) At that dark time, so many people made small and meaningful efforts to help. One was Patrick Sherriff who asked people he knew to write short articles for a book.The sales helped fund the Japanese Red Cross. I wrote a small contribution from a Starbucks in Fukuyama, Hiroshima - the first place I lived in Japan, and a place we stayed for week due to the uncertainty of the safety of Tokyo at the time for our baby